Other versions of the Trimley St Martin sign - 1978 to 2019

The Sign (reproduced from the 'Trimleystmartinrecordersblog.com)
Thomas Cavendish (or sometimes Candish) was born in 1560 during the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth. In 1977, during the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth. Robin Tremaseur was asked by Trimley St. Martin’s Parish Council to design a Village sign to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. His understanding and involvement in the graphic arts was well known and he was the obvious person to approach. Initially, he wasn’t certain about the focus but then he hit upon the notion of deploying St. Martin’s most famous son Thomas Cavendish. He went to Suffolk Record Office to conduct his research, where he found an engraving of Cavendish holding a pair of dividers resting on a globe from a book edited by Richard Hakluyt entitled 'The principal Navigations, voyages, Traffiques and discoveries of the English Nation'. Using artistic licence he redesigned the image of Cavendish and the globe to encompass ‘Trimley’. His next step was to commission an artist and given his many contacts within the trade was able to approach Tolly Cobbold for the use of their sign painter, A.J. Woollard Hardy. Woollard Hardy produced the sign which was painted in oils on both sides, in the style of a pub sign. Someone in the village provided a post for the mount and Robin ensured the famous quote about ‘The Oaks of Grimston Hall’ was included on the mount. The ironwork surrounding the image was designed by Robin and constructed by Jacobs of Kirton, the village Blacksmith. When everything was in place, at the entrance to Old Kirton Road on the High Road, the sign was officially unveiled by the two oldest village inhabitants.

The second sign design was taken from a 30p postage stamp from St Helene.

The present sign was also designed by Robin Tremaseur with an enamel finish for preservation.

The infrastructure of the sign has remained sound although the image is now on its’ second or third incarnation, and possibly more with repaints! The post and ironwork  were the work of the then Village Blacksmith in Kirton.

There are also two welcome signs on the Howlett Roundabout with the same design as the second sign, but in miniature (see pictures below).

The Name and Population
The population was 1,942 at the 2011 census. The name means "The woodland clearing of a man called Trymma", from Old English. It was called Tremelaia, Tremlega in the Domesday Book, and Tremle Sancti Martini in 1254, including the church suffix.

Other Points of Interest
The church is dedicated to St Martin and lies in the same graveyard as St Mary.

In the 16th century, Grimston Hall was the seat of Thomas Cavendish "The Navigator". The Suffolk Traveller (1800 edition) originally by John Kirby reported that two Ilexes planted by Thomas Cavendish were still standing. The Ilexes may be Holm Oaks, thereby linking in with a long, anonymous poem which includes the lines: 'By God said Thomas Cavendish, Whatever may befall, I'll always love dear Trimley and the Oaks of Grimston Hall.'

Coprolite was mined heavily around Trimley St Martin and surrounding villages, and at the height of the industry the open cast method of mining was used. Huge holes were dug in the countryside to get at the precious commodity. Owners of land with viable seams were offered around £20 for the rights to mine their land, the price of a nice house in the Victorian era. Commercial mining was driven by large companies like Packards and Fisons.

Trimley St Martin Welcome Signs on roundabout between Trimley Villages